Butcher. Baker. Bibliophile. Not Necessarily in that Order.

Garlicky Kale with Tahini Dressing from Vegan with a Vengeance | Sandandsuccotash.com

10 years ago, Isa Chandra Moskowitz put out a vegan cookbook that upended the typical stereotype of vegan cuisine with the emphasis on liberated and inexpensive vegan cooking. The original Vegan with a Vengeance contained a stockpile of recipes that were animal-free, and both tasted and looked great on the plate. 10 years later, she celebrates the anniversary with an updated version that contains ‘streamlined ingredients’ and ‘easier directions.’ And while it has many new recipes in the new book, the core feel is still the same – that cooking is fun and shouldn’t be complicated. Especially if you’re vegan.

VWAV (Vegan with a Vengeance) 10th Anniversary Overview

The nitty gritty: over 150 recipes, gorgeous food photography, and great tips throughout. She puts the focus on the ingredients and how they interact in the recipes, and she skips the straight standard vegan substitutions for non-vegan items. For example, she makes good use of coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, flaxseeds, vegan yogurt, and almond milk in place the typical processed vegan egg replacers. Know your ingredients and how they work, and you can create anything. More and more, when I’m cooking at home (vegan or not), I try to cook pretty clean and those types of recipes are ones I treasure the most.

Don’t skip the introduction. Her intro vibe sets the tone and spreads throughout the book. And her list of kitchen equipment made me feel at home – she lists the basics because that’s all you’ll really ever need. Her tips for the cast iron skillet were just plain funny. “Just make sure to hand wash with as little soap as possible and to dry immediately. Yes, I know, the Internet says not to wash with soap at all. But you know what? That’s gross”. I can lol on this because I feel the same way, and my trusted cast iron grill skillet has been non stick and fabulous for years.

As a baker, I loved the Veganize It! chapter. It includes Get Rid of the Eggs and Do away with Dairy. Her butter recipe was the tip of the year for me as coconut oil is my new go-to kitchen staple, but mixing it with applesauce and using that as the butter, well, that’s just genius.

The most memorable: Tempeh Reuben. The Reuben is one of those meals that is an experience. After all, it doesn’t even call itself a sandwich, just simply ‘The Reuben’. Meaning, in my opinion once you’ve had a great one, you’ve lived. The classic Reuben contains sauerkraut, corned beef, 1000 Island dressing, rye bread, and Swiss cheese. The VWAV’s version: balsamic and tamari marinated tempeh with a vegan sweet dressing with capers. The photo made me want to lick the page, so thank you Kate Lewis.

The one recipe I ‘need to do now!’ is the Eggplant Bacon. Eggplant slices are baked until crisp and brown in a hot oven, turning over once in the process. The temperature is then lowered, and the eggplant slices are dipped in a concoction of soy sauce and liquid smoke before being reheated. I can think of about a million ways to enliven sandwiches, salads, and more using this eggplant bacon.

Overall, an excellent cookbook, and if you are new to Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s take on vegan cuisine, you’ll be very satisfied. She practically invented modern and delicious vegan cooking.

Here is a sample of the many delicious recipes from the book. Easy to put together, and beautiful on the plate.

Sauté the garlic in the olive oil over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Add the kale, the salt, and a few splashes of water. Use tongs to toss the kale around, coating it with the garlic and oil. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes.

Serve with a drizzle of Tahini Dressing.

Garnish with lemon wedges.

Tahini Dressing

Place all ingredients, except for the parsley, and 3/4 cup of water in a blender and blend until smooth. Add extra water, as needed, to thin. (Remember that it will thicken once it’s refrigerated, so keeping it on the thin side is not a bad idea.) Pulse in the parsley, taste for salt, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Any variety of kale is delicious sautéed. Note that lacinato kale will cook faster than green or red curly kale. You can use the stems of the kale if they are on the slender side, about 1⁄4 inch wide. If they are any larger, cut the leaves away from the stem.

The FDA has given us three years to come up with something other than Trans Fats in food, having taken the GRAS label ('generally recognized as safe') from it. This has been a long time coming as partially hydrogenated oils, which make up a … [Continue reading]

As I posted on the Pastry Sampler blog regarding the provision to the The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 that would end the loophole for allowing goods to come into the U.S. that were produced by child or slave labor, I wondered … [Continue reading]

Just created this infographic with my 5 tips for success. If you want a custom one, it's on Fiverr. :)
Five Tips for Success
Visualize the End First: What is your vision? What do you want to accomplish? Knowing what your goal is, and visualizing … [Continue reading]

The benefits of eating yogurt and the live cultures in it are well known. You can eat yogurt by itself or use as an ingredient in recipes. Making yogurt at home is easy, and with an automatic yogurt machine, it’s even easier. A major benefit of using … [Continue reading]

I just posted an interesting link on the Pastry Sampler blog on gender inequality and the chocolate front. What I found from an article on Confectionery News was that while women can be trained with all the technical knowledge of cocoa farming, in … [Continue reading]

Chef Tom Kerridge, of The Hand and Flowers Pub, made heads turn after his comments from an interview at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. He was quoted to have supposed there where not that many women chefs because they didn't have fire in their … [Continue reading]

It is sad to see an old friend go, and Food Arts has been around as long as I have been in the industry. From new trends in restaurants and hotels and new openings, to in-depth ingredient articles and the latest in food business culture, not to … [Continue reading]

What is bigotry? Dictionary.com defines it as "stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own." How it works its way into the food world: through online reviews. And it seems Asian food is often a … [Continue reading]

Search

10 years ago, Isa Chandra Moskowitz put out a vegan cookbook that upended the typical stereotype of vegan cuisine with the emphasis on liberated and inexpensive vegan cooking. The original Vegan with a Vengeance contained a stockpile of recipes that were animal-free, and both tasted and looked great on the plate. 10 years later, […]

The FDA has given us three years to come up with something other than Trans Fats in food, having taken the GRAS label (‘generally recognized as safe’) from it. This has been a long time coming as partially hydrogenated oils, which make up a significant amount of Trans Fats in foods, has been shown to […]

As I posted on the Pastry Sampler blog regarding the provision to the The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 that would end the loophole for allowing goods to come into the U.S. that were produced by child or slave labor, I wondered how the law could have been in place in the […]

Just created this infographic with my 5 tips for success. If you want a custom one, it’s on Fiverr. Five Tips for Success Visualize the End First: What is your vision? What do you want to accomplish? Knowing what your goal is, and visualizing it in your mind, will help layout a strategy. Set Up […]

Copyright

All content copyright (c) Renee Shelton.
Copyright law does not protect recipes that are mere listings of ingredients. While recipe ingredients are generally copyright-free, the procedures and articles accompanying them are subject to copyright. Please do not copy material without requesting permission. Proper attribution is always good etiquette. All material is written & copyright by Renee Shelton, unless otherwise noted, such as works created by a guest blogger.
sandandsuccotash (at) gmail.com